I studied in modern times

Chapter 732: Lu Gongzhu: The sage created the five weapons to suppress violence and punish evil!
Lu Gongzhu was walking in the city of Bianjing, to a workshop that produced enemy-killing bows belonging to the Military Equipment Bureau.

Everything he saw shocked him!

Inside the long wooden shed, dozens of workers sat at a long wooden table that was almost the same length as the shed.

Everyone was busy doing their own thing.

Some people took files and filed wooden objects into shapes of certain sizes.

When he has completed a certain amount of work, he will push what he has made to the next person through the long wooden rail installed on the long table.

The next craftsman, after taking over, will start his work immediately.

Finally, after being handled by dozens of people, the manufactured parts were pushed by the guide rails to the worker sitting at the end.

The worker holds a caliper and carefully examines each final product.

After confirming that there are no defects, the products will be placed in a red wooden frame.

Those products that he considered unqualified were discarded into the green wooden frame next to it.

The production efficiency of doing so is beyond imagination!

Lu Gongzhu just stood there and watched for a while, and the workers in the workshop had already produced dozens of qualified products.

Lu Gongzhu looked at all this and let out a sigh of relief.

He understands military equipment production!

In the third year of Yuanfeng, he was appointed as the Deputy Privy Councilor by the previous emperor. When the troops were fighting against Xia in five directions, he was responsible for the supply of military equipment and armor, and for a time he was directly on duty in the Military Equipment Bureau.

Therefore, Lu Gongzhu was considered one of the few ministers among the literati of the Song Dynasty who truly understood the production and manufacturing of military equipment!

Therefore, Lu Gongzhu knew the past production methods of the Military Equipment Bureau of the Song Dynasty.

It depends on the meticulous work of skilled craftsmen, those master craftsmen who were recruited from all over the world!

But skilled craftsmen are hard to come by!
Every good bow, every powerful crossbow, every piece of armor.

They are all the products of the craftsmen's painstaking efforts and meticulous work.

For example, it takes seventy workers to make a set of the most common ground armor.

That is to say, it requires seventy skilled craftsmen to form a foot armor production team, and then they work together to complete the manufacturing.

Even so, production efficiency is very slow.

A team of seventy infantry armor craftsmen generally produces no more than one hundred to one hundred and fifty sets of mail armor each year.

This is the achievement of Wang Anshi’s reform.

Before Wang Anshi's reforms, the armor and weapons of the Song Dynasty were notoriously bad and expensive.

In the three major defeats at Haoshuichuan, Sanchuankou and Dingchuanzhai, except for the armor of high-level military officials.

There is no qualified armor for ordinary soldiers.

The bowstring of the bow is damp, the arrowhead is blunt, and the arrow shot out is limp. Not to mention breaking the defense, it may not even be able to penetrate the cloth armor worn by the Western bandit's son!
Iron armor is generally very fragile, and there have been cases where an iron armor was shot through by a single arrow from the Western bandits.

As a result, extremely exaggerated things happened in the Song Dynasty during the Renmiao era.

The wart-like armor of the Western bandits actually became a precious armor that the civil and military officials of the Song Dynasty vied for!

Han Qi was very happy when he got one of them. He kept it carefully and only showed it to distinguished guests when they came.

This is the first time in history since the Han and Tang Dynasties.

The Central Plains dynasty was completely defeated by the barbarians in terms of military equipment!
At that time, even the imported Japanese swords were regarded as precious swords in the Song Dynasty!

It is because of these lessons.

During the Xining Reform, Wang Anshi decided to establish a military equipment supervisory office and mobilize skilled craftsmen from all prefectures and counties across the country to gather in Bianliang to carry out production and manufacturing.

At the same time, we also concentrate various technologies from all over the world for use in military equipment production to ensure the quality of weapons!
Since Xining, the quality of Song Dynasty's military equipment began to improve.

Only then could they finally compete with the Western bandits in terms of weapon quality, and eventually in the Yuanfeng era, they surpassed the quality of the Western bandits' weapons such as bows, crossbows, swords and halberds!

This was the material basis for the Song army to rise and gradually gain advantage on the battlefield during the Xi and Feng eras.

It was for this reason that the scene before him shocked Lu Gongzhu.

He turned around and looked at Shen Kuo, who was standing behind him and accompanying him on the inspection.

"Shen Tiju, is this the 'production line'?" he asked.

Shen Kuo nodded and replied, "Reporting to Zuo Kui, it is the production line!"

He said with a little pride: "In the eighth year of Yuanfeng, I was reinstated by the grace of the emperor and was appointed by the imperial decree to be in charge of the military equipment manufacturing bureau!"

"Soon after I took office, the emperor ordered me to classify the parts and tools needed for the various armors in the Military Equipment Bureau, and then divide them into different processes based on their characteristics, materials, and craftsmanship."

"The craftsmen here are responsible for making part of the bow body of the enemy-killing bow..."

"And the enemy-killing bow is divided into seventeen different parts..."

"Eventually, all parts will be assembled in the final assembly workshop and then pass the ultimate test before they can be delivered to the Privy Council for storage..."

"Since this method was used, the production volume and quality of various armors in the Military Equipment Bureau have greatly improved!"

"Especially, in the first year of Yuanyou, a new blast furnace was built to smelt iron. After smelting refined iron and refined steel... the armor of the Song Dynasty was the best in the world!" At this point, Shen Kuo raised his head proudly: "Last year, the Military Equipment Supervision Bureau produced more than 3,400 sets of armor, more than five times the number in the past!"

"Next year or the year after, we may be able to produce tens of thousands of suits of armor per year!"

"Tens of thousands of sets of armor?" Lu Gongzhu took a deep breath: "How is this possible?!"

"Even if the craftsmen can do it, where can we get so much good iron?"

Lu Gongzhu was very clear.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that the iron production in the prefectures and counties of the Song Dynasty is huge.

But in fact, the quality of most iron produced by railway supervisors is very worrying!
In the eighth year of Yuanfeng, Wu Juhou's government office in Jingdong Road was nearly captured by craftsmen from the Liguojian in Xuzhou.

The dignified transport envoy could only escape by climbing over the wall in panic.

One of the reasons was that Wu Juhou once asked the blacksmiths of the Li Guojian to cast iron coins, which were then transported to Shaanxi, Xihe and other places for use as military expenses.

However, the iron in Xuzhou was brittle, so the iron coins cast were transported to Shaanxi and Xihe.

No one wanted it!
In the end, the price had to be greatly reduced before the soldiers could barely accept it.

The iron coins minted by the workers of Liguojian had to be devalued by half in Xihe and Shaanxi before people would have to accept them.

Naturally, the reward that Wu Juhou had promised to give to Li Guojian could not be fulfilled.

As a result, people from all walks of life in Liguo Prison were outraged.

It just so happened that Wu Juhou was being investigated by the court at that time, and there were rumors that Wu Juhou would be taken back to the court and imprisoned to be tried.

When the workers of Liguojian heard the legend, they immediately gathered together and besieged Wu Juhou's office.

They were just worried that he would be captured by the imperial court, and then they would have no place to ask for the reward money from everyone!
Afterwards, the imperial court sent Kumamoto to Jingdongdu Road to deal with the aftermath.

With the support of Han Jiang, Kumamoto paid the promised reward on behalf of Wu Juhou and only then was Li Guojian appeased.

But is Li Guojian the only one who is brittle?

As far as Lu Gongzhu knew, the iron produced by most iron stations throughout the Song Dynasty generally had the problem of being brittle.

The iron from Liguojian is just exceptionally brittle.

In the Song Dynasty, the real good iron was in the hands of skilled craftsmen who mastered the technology of refining steel in the southeastern places such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Yangzhou.

Only armor made of tempered steel is strong and sharp enough.

But hundred-fold refined steel is ridiculously expensive and its production is scarce.

This is also the reason why iron armor is scarce in the Western Army of the Song Dynasty.

Even among the elite soldiers, less than 30% could wear iron armor, and the rest wore leather armor.

Now, Shen Kuo told him that the Military Equipment Bureau produced more than 3,000 sets of iron armor last year.

Next year or the year after, this number may be pushed to tens of thousands!

How can this be?

Shen Kuo smiled and said, "It's normal for Zuo Kuo not to believe it." "But Zuo Kuo may not know that in the eighth year of Yuanfeng, I have solved the problem of iron fragility in our dynasty by using the way of studying things to gain knowledge and the guidance of the official sages!"

"In addition to this, we also used the blast furnace method to increase the output of the iron prison several times or even dozens of times!"

"As I said, next year or the year after, the Armory's armor production may reach tens of thousands of sets. This is because the blast furnace in the Xuzhou Liguo Prison will not be officially put into production until next year..."

"By then, there will be an endless supply of fine iron, and even fine steel, delivered to the capital!"

"The power of our armor will be unrivaled in the world and the best in history!"

Lu Gongzhu's eyes widened, he couldn't believe his ears: "Really?"

"When the time comes, the outcome will be clear for you, Prime Minister Zuo!"

As he said this, Shen Kuo laughed and said, "I dare not lie in front of the real Buddha!"

Lu Gongzhu immediately started laughing.

Like Wang Anshi, he was a scholar-official who believed in Buddhism.

"Then I will wait and see!" Lu Gongzhu said with confidence: "If we can produce tens of thousands of sets of armor every year..."

He licked his tongue and began to feel his heart beating uncontrollably.

if……

If there were really tens of thousands of sets of armor produced every year...

Then he really needs to think carefully about his attitude towards the Western thieves.

Yes!
He, Lu Gongzhu, is anti-war.

But he was not like Sima Guang. He opposed the war only because he felt that it would be impossible for the Song Dynasty to destroy the Western bandits in the short term.

Even crossing the Yellow River is a luxury!
Therefore, the Song-Xia War was just a meaningless waste of money and food.

What's more, the Song Dynasty may not necessarily win through attrition.

After all, after crossing Hengshan and lengthening the supply line, the Song army would have to fight away from home.

Whether it is food or armor and weapons, they all need to be transported through supply lines over hundreds of miles.

This place is very easy to be ambushed by the Western bandit cavalry.

Once this happens, the troops on the front line will have to withdraw even if they win the battle.

Therefore, it is impossible for the Song Dynasty to win the war against the Western bandits.

Even if we can win temporarily, we can't afford it financially.

In other words, Lu Gongzhu's opposition to the war was the same as that of the Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager Xiang.

They are just against defeat.

But what if we can win?
This is the credit for expanding territory!

Once he can do this in his position as prime minister.

Then he, Lu Gongzhu and Lu Huishu, will surely surpass his father and grandfather in achievements and become the greatest prime minister of the Song Dynasty.

His status in history books is comparable to that of Han Wang Zhao Pu, who assisted Emperor Taizong.

Even the famous prime ministers of previous generations, such as Zhang Liang and Xiao He... I'm afraid they would be able to give it a try!
Thinking of this, Lu Gongzhu hurriedly chanted the Buddha's name in his heart, and secretly said: "Sin... sin... I almost got possessed!"

"Even if we can produce tens of thousands of sets of armor per year... the quality of the armor is still a big problem!"

However, Shen Kuo was determined to destroy his moral integrity.

His voice, like that of the Asura demon, echoed in Lu Gongzhu's ears.

"Please be at ease, Zuo Kuidan!"

"By the year after next, the Military Equipment Bureau will be able to produce tens of thousands of sets of armor every year!"

"I have already signed a military order in front of the emperor on this matter!"

"And it is guaranteed that every set of armor can withstand direct hits from the Divine Arm Bow within a hundred steps without breaking!"

The inner demon that Lu Gongzhu had finally calmed down became active again.

His pursuit of achievement and historical status makes it difficult for him to control himself!
This commotion became more and more obvious during the rest of the visit.

Especially when Shen Kuo accompanied him and visited the Zhajia production workshop, Lu Gongzhu felt that he could no longer suppress the demons in his heart.

no way!
seeing is believing!

When those well-made and shining armor were displayed in front of him, he could no longer hold back.

"Shen Tiju, can we give it a try?" he asked.

Shen Kuo readily agreed.

So, a test was conducted in the Military Equipment Bureau. Several tall imperial guards, holding the Song Dynasty's special armor-piercing bows, stood in the yard and fired a round of concentrated fire at the armor hanging on the wooden frame from a distance of 100 steps.

Lu Gongzhu personally stepped forward to examine the armor that was shot by the divine arm bow.

The armor plates are intact, with only small and large dents appearing where they were hit.

But Shen Kuo still wanted to show off his skills.

Order people to test again within a distance of sixty steps.

This time, the concentrated shooting of the divine arm bow caused the armor to shake.

However, the result of the inspection was still that the armor blade could not be penetrated.

Finally, after testing within thirty steps, the Shenbi bow with a special armor-piercing arrow finally pierced the armor plates, but it failed to penetrate completely.

Unbelievable!

What a miracle!

If there really were tens of thousands of such armors...

The devil in Lu Gongzhu's heart was screaming and roaring.

"Although it is said that weapons are dangerous tools, saints only use them when they have no other choice!"

"But the saints created the five weapons to suppress violence and punish evil!"

"The Western bandits are stubborn and do not abide by the law. They do not obey the king's laws and have repeatedly invaded our territory..."

"The king's army will attack them, which is in accordance with the will of heaven and the will of the people!"

This is Confucianism!
Will adjust your view of the world according to the situation anytime and anywhere.

Therefore, the Confucian scholars of the Han and Tang dynasties all wore swords and carried bows, and were proud of their achievements on the frontier and their positions as generals and prime ministers.

The literati of the Song Dynasty suffered long-term military failures.

So they fall into an ostrich state, start to be conservative, shrink, and even deceive themselves.

However, at the same time, the literati of the Song Dynasty dreamed of returning to the Han and Tang dynasties.

Lu Gongzhu is no exception.

Even Sima Guang was the same!

So, when leaving the Military Equipment Bureau, Lü Gongzhu suddenly quietly pulled Shen Kuo's sleeve, took him aside, and asked in a low voice: "Cun Zhong, I heard that Cun Zhong has a new interpretation of the way of knowing through investigation of things?"

Shen Kuo nodded.

"Would you like to let me take a look?" asked Lu Gongzhu.

Lu Gongzhu was not only a prime minister, he was also an academic leader among the literati.

Academic leaders must have their own developments and insights into the meaning of the scriptures.

And most of the articles in the world are plagiarized.

Even Sima Guang had "borrowed" some of Wang Anshi's new school of thought.

Naturally, for Lu Gongzhu, he also wanted to learn from and refer to Shen Kuo's "Investigation of Things to Gain Knowledge".

Because he knows that this path will surely shine brightly in the world in the future!
Naturally, he needs to seize this opportunity!
(End of this chapter)